Promotion

Child Safety Week 21 to 27 June

publication date: Jun 21, 2010
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  1. CAPT logoEvery day 11 toddlers are rushed into hospital because it’s thought they’ve swallowed something dangerous.  Detergent capsules and concentrated detergents pose new risks to young children. If yours are under the sink, take a couple of minutes to move them to a high cupboard or one with a lock, away from little hands. 
  2. Remember some three to four year olds can open child "proof" caps in seconds, so keep medicines in a locked or high cupboard too. Don’t forget the painkillers in your handbag too!
  3. Hair straighteners stay hot enough to badly burn a child eight minutes after being unplugged. So take a moment to put them where they can’t be reached.
  4. Every day 45 toddlers are admitted to hospital after a fall. Take the time to fit a window lock so it will only open to 6cm (2.5 inches). Falling downstairs can damage your baby's brain as well as their body so make sure you use safety gates on stairs.
  5. Thick, black smoke from a fire can fill your home in minutes and kill your child in seconds. So get a smoke alarm fitted on every level of your home and test it regularly.
  6. At least one young child a year dies after getting caught in a blind cord and being strangled. It takes seconds to tie yours back round a hook to keep loops out of reach of climbing children. Move children’s cots, beds and highchairs away from window blinds too.
  7. If a child is hit by a car at 40 mph, there’s an 80 per cent chance they will die. If the car is travelling at 30 mph, there’s an 80 per cent chance they will live. Leave a bit more time for your journey so you’re not tempted to speed.
  8. In five seconds a toddler’s skin can be burned so badly by hot tap water that they need to go to hospital.  So take a second to put the cold water in first and top up with hot, then test the water with your elbow, to reduce the risk of your child being burned.
  9. Toddlers can choke on food that’s too big, even just the size of a grape. Take a minute to cut their food up into small pieces.
  10. Six toddlers are admitted to hospital every day because they’ve been so badly burned. A hot drink can burn a young child even 15 minutes after it has been made, so put your baby down before you pick up yours and don’t pass hot drinks over children’s heads.